Summary:For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. [Columbia Pictures]

Bigelow delivers an acute realization of the mission's execution that's eerily in sync with the way it played in the popular imagination. Visually, the events unfold as a mashup of shadowy movements with flashes of green night vision. It's simultaneously predictable and tense.

It's only at the very beginning and the very end that Zero Dark Thirty functions (brilliantly) as a ripped-from-the-headlines political thriller. Much of the rest of the time, it's a workplace drama about a woman so good at her job that most of her colleagues think she's crazy.

Zero Dark Thirty, like the mission that inspired it, commands respect, admiration, even awe in places for the logistical nightmares that had to be overcome to get it done. But it's a hard movie to love.

As a realistic political thriller about Americans in harm's way it is not half as suspenseful or entertaining as "Argo." We may never know the truth about how we found bin Laden, but I still believe what we do know makes a strong enough story on its own without Wonder Woman.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Simply outstanding. Kathryn Bigelow, now that she's made the character-driven Hurt Locker and this phenomenally-paced thriller, has positioned herself as the dramatic chronicler of record in modern American warfare. No, she's not covering this stuff comprehensively, but the dramatic choices she makes, the slices she and her writers have focused on, so effectively tell the story of this era that I was thinking that we're lucky to have her as the credits of ZDT rolled. Chastain, the chameleon, is terrific in the film and will rightly be praised through the awards season. But I want to give special praise to Jason Clarke, who I've appreciated so thoroughly in Brotherhood and The Chicago code - he was an inspired casting choice. The enhanced interrogation sequences are technically no more difficult to watch than similar scenes in other films (most recently Safe House), but Clarke's ability to represent the interrogator's calculated pinballing between brutality and humanity is powerful. It's not a short movie, but I was riveted throughout. My audience gave the film a modest round of applause. I think they were more stunned by what they had just seen than anything else.…Expand

A film 10 years in the making had better be good, a concept I held with John Carter, a film 100 years in the making. Unfortunately John CarterA film 10 years in the making had better be good, a concept I held with John Carter, a film 100 years in the making. Unfortunately John Carter was horrendous and let down its literary background. Zero Dark Thirty doesn't have the luxury of being a fictional story or being a story so old its original fans grand kids are in their sixties. It pretty much had to be excellent, didn't it? The film follows CIA analyst Maya (Jessica Chastain) in her search for Osama Bin Laden following 9/11. The film spans a decade in the search through two administrations, torture, tragedy and heartbreak. The answer to that question by the way is unequivocally yes. Zero Dark Thirty is a taut clever thriller with a devastating lead performance by Chastain. The film not only follows the hunt for Bin Laden but it also tells the tale of a woman so hell bent on one goal that it slowly but surely breaks her down. It's not just a search for justice, justice found through dubious means for that matter, but a film that looks at the psychological toll a search like this can have on those conducting it. It's a movie I found myself very involved in, a film which makes you want to yell at the screen (you will know what scene) and a film that will leave you gratified but also a little bit fried, which I can only imagine was the point, for the viewer to feel like Maya. Screenwriter Mark Boal and Director Katheryn Bigelow have created a unique thriller that is extremely guarded and insular while never lacking in substance. The cast is excellent with Chastain giving a career high performance. However she is also supported by other actors bringing their A game from Jennifer Ehle to Jason Clarke. Ehle plays well opposite Chastain as a straight laced analyst whose nativity doesn't really suit her job. Clarke is the most interesting character in the film, a very closed off torturer who begins to tire of the constant brutality. The characters are beautifully written and equally well acted. The direction ensures the tension never really stops throughout the film and it keeps your interest throughout making for an exceptional viewing experience. A worthy follow up to The Hurt Locker and worthy of all the Oscar praise it is receiving.…Expand

A political thriller that outshines the impressive "Argo". Kathryn Bigelow shows us why she is one of the best working directors in the world.A political thriller that outshines the impressive "Argo". Kathryn Bigelow shows us why she is one of the best working directors in the world. The tears in Maya's eyes at in the last sequence of the film are just so hunting. Great Performance by Jessica Chastain…Expand

I had pretty high expectations considering it's a 95%,and I was pretty disappointed.The acting is flawless and the photography is really goodI had pretty high expectations considering it's a 95%,and I was pretty disappointed.The acting is flawless and the photography is really good but the movie gets pretty boring.The last 20 minutes were really good and are the reason I give this movie a 7 instead of a 6.…Expand

I love Kathryn Bigelow, but goodness, this movie is languid and poorly paced. Ironically, the movie had 3 hours to move us by its characters,I love Kathryn Bigelow, but goodness, this movie is languid and poorly paced. Ironically, the movie had 3 hours to move us by its characters, but came up short, I have no connection with the characters in this amazing story. I think the movie comes across as a dramatic documentary and we as the audience only watch this story, not be engaged by it. Seriously, they could have cut about a dozen establishing montages by half or entirely, and made the movie 2 hours shorter. The whole thing felt a little melodramatic and it it wanted to be like The Year Of Living Dangerously or All The Presidents Men, and have that grit and docu feel, but the dialogue was laughable, and emoting seemed artificial. I am stunned at the fanfare behind this movie, it's almost like it's being touted as so the world watches it, and sends some sort of perverted message about the tenacity of the US, or like, don't mess with us thing. Zero Dark Thirty feels like a Saturday afternoon movie or mini series for Discovery or History channel, or it would have done well on HBO. But not the best KB has made. Even still I dig her work.…Expand

this movie is like trying to hold you back from getting osama, every annoying little thing that stopped people from catching him was conveyedthis movie is like trying to hold you back from getting osama, every annoying little thing that stopped people from catching him was conveyed before any action scenes are even showed, the whole movie stunk.
I pray for the immediate victims of 911, and the innocent victims of the aftermath and the wars caused as a result.

that being said... ... ... This movie is boring, men are not portrayed as men in this movie they are all mice, I mean the guys in the movie are all like wimpy, and stereo typical, not all men act like that, but in the movie like 99% do. I hate the way it was directed the camera shakes all over the place at bits, and they make osama out to be a vampire or something...
[no that does not happen in the movie that would be entertaining]
this movie is garbage it is not a war movie it is a bad documentary made into a movie that bores you.

in the commercials for this movie they show all the action bits and the scarf wearing secret agents with [aka47 looking guns], doing gangster style hip hop walking to their enemy just stupid looking.

Man I like war movies so if thats what you are looking for watch the lone surviver or saving private ryan, cause this movie is more about watching a geeky woman and stereo typical dumb hillbilly men with guns. we don't want to be bored out of our minds we just want to see an action movie which is what was promised in many of the movie trailers don't fall for it, Its only like a few minutes of the movies ending thats even worth a mention and even then not worth it.…Expand

Nominees for the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday morning, with Lincoln, Argo, and Django Unchained leading the film nominees and Homeland and Modern Family among the TV leaders. Inside, get a full list of this year's nominees, and a look at major snubs and surprises.

Throughout December and January, we'll be aggregating dozens of year-end top ten lists from a variety of movie critics and publications. Find all of their lists here, as well as our composite standings for best movie of 2012.

Track every major movie award and nomination here with our 2012 Film Awards Scorecard. We'll update the standings daily throughout December and January as soon as new awards and nominations are announced.

The holiday movie season kicks off this weekend with what could be the best James Bond film yet, but there are plenty more treats in store over the coming weeks, including new films from Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow, Michael Haneke, David O. Russell, and Judd Apatow and the first of three Hobbit films.